"I can hear your thoughts Emerald," Lauren soon spoke with the deeper voice she'd only have in the morning. Fluttering her eyes open, she turned her head against the pillow to gaze at me adorably.
My grin then curved into a smile. "I'm sorry, did they wake you?" She laughed quietly,
"Maybe... What's on your mind?" she asked, lifting her left hand to cup under my chin and caress my cheek with her fingers.
"You," I admitted. "And today..."
"Oh right, it's therapy day," she sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Ugh, I want it to be over with already."
"You'll do fine, I'm positive," I assured, running a hand along the side of her face, prompting her to look at me again. "Do you want me with you, while in there? I'll stay in the car and wait, if that makes you more comfortable-"
"No, of course I want you there with me," Lauren said with knit brows, her eyes now studying my expression. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"
Shrugging a shoulder, I looked around the bedroom, mumbling a bit, "I don't want to be a nuisance, so I just wanted to make su-"
Halting my sentence, Lauren's fingers gently pressed my cheek as she took hold of my chin, and I met her gaze. "I promise you that's never the case, okay? You've been so patient and attentive with me, it amazes me. If anything, I'm worried about being a burden on you-" I shook my head, beginning to protest, but she spoke before me. "But, at any given chance, you've done nothing but show otherwise. And I don't know what I did to deserve it...or you...but I'm incredibly grateful Sade, please know that."
For a moment, I said nothing as my eyes peered into hers, and her fingers caressed my cheek again. A smile then curved onto my lips, and she soon mirrored my expression.
"We need to get up before we're late," I said, sitting upright.
Before helping her from the bed, I went into the bathroom to lay everything out. My shower was pretty big, enough for about five people, and had a decent sized bench with a detachable shower head as well as the one straight up above. There were some on the sides of the wall too, along with the temperature and pressure operator.
Once coming back into the bedroom, I stood her up, then took her free arm over my shoulders as I gently held her waist, making sure not to hurt her bruised ribs. Since Lauren had multiple injuries, I took care of her first before worrying about myself. I got in with her, and bathed her as she sat on the bench with her leg elevated on the stool I put in there. After quickly washing myself, I then helped her get out, dressed her in a matching athletic set, and did her hair into a low bun before getting myself ready.
At first, it was a lot, figuring out how to do everything and making sure I did it right. But now, I'd gotten the hang of it, and honestly didn't mind at all. Taking care of Lauren like this was almost instinctive to me; like it wasn't questionable even with everything that's gone on between us.
Once making the bed back up, I helped her downstairs and into her wheelchair that stayed down there. Everytime we went up or down the stairs, I'd laugh to myself, remembering when she first told me that she wanted to get off the couch and sleep in the bed...
"I think I'll have a ramp built-" Lauren laughed, though I was dead serious. "No for real, babe, how in the hell are we supposed to get you up there?" I turned to look at her humorous expression, and couldn't help but smile and shake my head.
"Sade, it's fine, I can stay on the couch a few more days or wee-"
"No, we're getting you up those stairs," I assured with assertively raised brows while pointing a finger at her. Lauren bit down a smile and held her hands up in surrender. I then turned back to squint my eyes at the stairs, as if that'd make a solution appear. "You think I could carry you?"
Chapter 71
Start from the beginning
